Thursday, January 3, 2008

O modelo de prova (parte 1) - The test garment (part 1)

Antes de mais, espero que todas(os) tenham passado um excelente Natal e tenham entrado em beleza no Novo Ano! Quero agradecer todas as mostras de carinho, as lembranças e os comentários que me deixaram enquanto estive de férias. Tenho sorte de ter amigos e amigas como vocês, que me mimam e incentivam de todas as formas!First of all, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration and also that this New Year will bring you all peace, happiness, love and good health. I thank you all the good wishes, gifts and comments received while I was away on vacation. I feel very lucky and honoured for having such wonderful friends al around the world, friends who cherish me and move me forward!

Agora tenho que por a leitura dos blogs em dia (mais de duzentas entradas), responder a emails e também retomar a costura do fato Unrath & Strano. Antes de ir de férias para o Algarve, já tinha iniciado a confecção do modelo de prova usando um tecido barato de algodão e transferindo o molde e as marcações para o tecido com o auxílio de uma recortilha e papel químico amarelo:Now I must catch up on all the blogs (I have more than 200 unread blog entries in my blogroll), answer to all the emails and also resume the making of the Unrath & Strano suit. Before leaving to Algarve I had already started on the construction of the test garment using an inexpensive cotton fabric and transferring the pattern to the fabric using a tracing wheel and yellow tracing paper:

Vejam o pormenor do corte do bolso (o molde não inclui valores de costura; na abertura do bolso não se deve acrescentar qualquer valor de costura pois as duas faces devem encontrar-se na linha de abertura sem se sobreporem):See the detail of the pocket opening (the paper pattern doesn’t include the seam allowances; they are added as I cut. The pocket opening doesn’t include SAs because the two edges must match without overlapping):Aqui podem ver como fica o tecido marcado com o químico amarelo:Here you can see the yellow markings left on the fabric:Hoje não resisti a adiantar um pouco os trabalhos! Depois de unir todas as partes (excepto as mangas, as vistas, o bolso, a parte de cima da gola e o cinto), aqui têm o resultado até agora:Today I couldn’t help myself and since I was missing sewing so much, I took it on to the next stage! After basting together all the pieces (except the sleeves, facings, pocket, upper collar and the belt), here is the result so far:Algumas marcações relevantes foram passadas com alinhavos para se notarem melhor (linhas do centro na saia e jaqueta, linhas da cintura, posição do bolso, pontos de aposição, etc.); a abertura do bolso foi fechada com um ponto de ziguezague. As orlas na bainha, frente e gola foram alinhavadas para dentro. Na saia, o fecho foi alinhavado, assim como as bainhas e as vistas da abertura. As pregas do lado da saia foram fixadas com alfinetes junto ao cós, do lado direito.I retraced some of the relevant markings using basting thread (center lines on the jacket and skirt, waist placement lines, pocket placement lines, notches, etc.); the hem allowances and edge allowances were turned inside and basted in place. On the skirt, the zipper was basted in place, along with the side opening facings and the hem allowances. The horizontal side pleats are simply pinned in place on the skirt’s right side.

This first test serves two purposes: establishing the need of alterations and/or adjustments is one of them. To fulfil this task I need to place the shoulder pads in place and this test garment will be needed for choosing the right type of shoulder pads. I plan on trying several different kinds, including custom made shoulder pads. I still need to cut the shoulder reinforcements on thick interfacing and I might use the same pattern for making my own shoulder pads if anything else fails. The shoulder shape is well raised and defined so I might need custom made shoulder pads to fit its exact shape. The second purpose of this first test is establishing the collar roll line accurately. After basting the under collar in place and folding the collar in a way that it lays smoothly on the shoulders and back, I marked the roll line with pins for later transferring it to the paper pattern:

Quanto à jaqueta, concluo que o molde é um dos melhores que já vi até hoje e também que modela o corpo de forma perfeita e favorecedora. O corte assimétrico na frente foi conseguido de forma espectacular. As proporções (tanto horizontais como verticais) são correctas para o meu corpo, as pinças estão bem colocadas, as linhas horizontais (peito, cintura) encontram-se também na altura correcta e o bolso fica bem onde está. Não prevejo que seja necessário nenhuma modificação, tirando alguns ajustes ligeiros nas costuras verticais.As far as I am concerned, I find the jacket pattern one of the best and accurately drafted patterns I’ve tried so far. It holds its shape to the body following the body contour in a very flattering way. The asymmetrical effect on the front is perfect. The proportions (the vertical and the horizontal) are right for me, the darts are correctly placed, the horizontal lines (chest and waist lines) are at the right place and the pocket is just right where it is. I don’t think I will alter this pattern and only minor adjustments on the vertical seams will be needed.

Welcome back and Happy New Year, to you, too! This will be a very interesting suit. I was wondering what you'd do about the skirt. I know everyone has their own comfort level as far as modesty and I knew from the runway photo the slit was a bit high. I'll be interested to see your version.

So glad your back! Hope you had a wonderful vacation and a Happy New Year! The suit so far is very interesting. It isn't something that I could wear in my day to day life so it will be fun to watch you construct this!

Tany, this is becoming very special indeed. SO curious how this turns out on you, and happy that the jacket pattern is so good. The skirt looks great on the dressform, but I can imagine not being comfortable in it.